Official:Nissan to make India global production and export hub for new Micra in 2010

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 8th August 2009, 13:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by AyAn!

X-Trail,Teana and then Micra.And nothing in between for now..such a huge void in Nissan's line-up.

If you want something bigger than Micra, consider the A-Star. Ugh. oh. A-Star is MSIL, no? Actually, no. See Nissan nearly doubles order from Maruti- Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Rahulkool · 8th August 2009, 14:25

i saw a Nissan-Renault staff bus yesterday, is that means production has already started ??

AyAn! · 28th August 2009, 11:50

Nissan to shift production of small car from UK to India - India Business - Business - NEWS - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Forget China, it’s focus India for global automakers, courtesy small cars. In a move that reflects the growing stature of the Indian

car industry globally, Japanese major Nissan has decided to shift the entire production of its small car, Micra, from the UK to India. After production of the Micra begins here, Nissan plans to manufacture four more models in India, involving a total investment of over Rs 2,000 crore.

The move underlines the rush among automakers to rationalize production costs and move to locations that offer the best value and quality. “We have decided to manufacture the Micra at our upcoming factory at Oragadam, near Chennai,” Nissan India MD and CEO Kiminobu Tokuyama told TOI.

The company’s Chennai plant will start production from May next year, and export markets would be catered to from autumn, Tokuyama said. Nissan, he said, plans to meet Micra’s requirements for the entire European region as well as some other markets like West Asia from the Chennai plant. “We plan to start with export volumes of 1.1 lakh units, which would be gradually scaled up to 1.8 lakh units as demand goes up,” Tokuyama said.

But what prompted the step? “There are many benefits in India, including a high-quality vendor base that is also cost-effective, leading to globally-competitive pricing,” Tokuyama said. Nissan will thus emulate companies like Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki, which make small cars in India to export to Europe.

indivic · 28th August 2009, 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

i saw a Nissan-Renault staff bus yesterday, is that means production has already started ??

My colleague's brother works with the SW division of Renault-Nissan and according to him the designs of both X02A and X02B is a closely guarded secret inside a "lab" with restricted access and a private network inside.

The design briefs for the people on the projects are to target best in class rear seating comfort and FE.

So it is safe to assume that production has not started, plus we are yet to see any kind of a prototype testing in India.

OTOH,I see almost daily a beat up Nissan sedan - guess it is a Sunny , the design is from the eighties. But it runs a red plate with white numbers. Anybody knows what that kind of a plate means ? The plate reads like TN01 TC XXXX

fx45 · 28th August 2009, 16:00

Micra could compete with i10 etc. but the reall competitor to the Jazz is the Tidia which is a great HB/Sedan and can give some serious competiton to Jazz/City here.

GTO · 28th August 2009, 18:34

There's a lot of great hatchbacks out there, including the Micra, that are pretty darn competent. The only challenge is our exceedingly price sensitive market. Maruti, Hyundai & Tata have got the value game covered. It will be very difficult for anyone to match these three players in cost of production per hatch (and thus, ex-showroom price). It's not impossible, but the 3.5 - 5 lakh hatchback segment requires a phenomenal amount of commitment. Early players obviously enjoy & exploit their advantage. Nissan & Renault have been affected by the global recesssion, would they be willing to commit? Not to mention, their initial innings (Logan, Teana & X-Trail) have been pathetic.

Another challenge : Distribution. Dealers that cover the length & breadth of our vast country are mandatory to a mass market small car's success. Right now, few entrepreneurs are willing to invest money in a dealership. And the number of potentials have been steadily dwindling over the past 5 years.

Sn1p3r · 28th August 2009, 18:47

Talking of Micra I fondly remember my four day stint with the car. I do not however agree with @speedmiester that it is a bad handling car.

I did the complete Greek Peloponnese island from Athens and back. The car was extremely frugal as compared to VW Eos that was driven earlier. The car is at no stretch an eye candy but has extremely user friendly cabin, lot of cubby holes and lot of space for two traveling. the best part was that on a single day I covered more than 900 kms from sun-rise to sunset and did not feel fatigued.

On Indian roads it will be interesting what Nissan/Renault does. The market is already saturated but yeh dil mange more Indians will have good time in this French/Japanese car.

Cheers!

car_crazy1400 · 28th August 2009, 20:58

Guys! Update, I saw the Micra in the first picture parked on the roadside in Kirti Nagar Market yesterday (was driving with dad , so no pics. It had A MH-43 regn. Had a Pinkish/ pale orange kinda color.

Road worthiness tests?

sidindica · 1st October 2009, 18:27

first official sketches released by Nissan, pics from worldcarfans.

vinaydas · 1st October 2009, 18:31

personally the looks of the car donot impress me but one thing is for sure,the small car market in india is spicing up

ashutoshb · 1st October 2009, 19:05

looks nice! cheeky bubbly look, like the spark.

sunil8089 · 2nd October 2009, 08:24

If Nissan come up with a globally competent product like Micra, they have huge potential to establish in Indian market. I don't think the distribution, sales and service will be a major area of concern as they can tie up (at least initially) with players like Suzuki, Mahindra or any other existing players, than setting up their own network.

Globally Nissan and Suzuki have lots of tie ups. I don't know whether it works in an Indian scenario, especially with Maruti. But a more possible partner is Mahindra, as in the case of Renault.

More than these logistic issues, the most important success factor is the 'positioning' which determines the target market and the pricing. In UK I had seen micra is well positioned at the entry level with good value (not cheapest), people who used this car got a very good opinion. In India if they position the car in the 'heart' of the mass market its going to be a success. Otherwise we will have one more white elephant, like 'Honda Jazz'.

aaggoswami · 3rd October 2009, 17:18

The car is coming in May 2010 if the following news article is to be believed. I think renault has good diesels with them, so plonking one will not be an issue. Next I hoop they have learned lessons from Logan.

Source : Nissan reveals sketch of global compact car

Article :

Quote:

Japanese car maker Nissan today revealed the sketch of its global compact car that would be produced in five countries, including India from next year.

The production of the new model would commence at the company's upcoming Chennai plant from May 2010, Nissan Motor Co said in a statement.

"We are confident that the car, which will be manufactured locally in Chennai will delight the discerning Indian customers. We are serious and committed in our plans for India and are all excited as we gear up for the start of production in May 2010," Nissan Motor India Managing Director and CEO Kiminobu Tokuyama said.

The car would be sold in over 150 countries across the globe and would be manufactured in four other countries including, China and Thailand, besides India.

"The car is being built on our global platform at our plant in Chennai. We are not in a position to disclose the final name of the car and also other details related to product specifications and pricing, which will be announced at some time in future," a Nissan Motor India spokesperson said.

The Rs 4,500 crore Chennai plant being built jointly by Nissan and its French parent Renault will have an installed capacity of four lakh units annually.

14000rpm · 3rd October 2009, 17:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

The car is coming in May 2010 if the following news article is to be believed. I think renault has good diesels with them, so plonking one will not be an issue. Next I hoop they have learned lessons from Logan.

the current micra is ugly and i hope they don't think of dumping it on us here. the concept sketch is only a designers sketch and impractical for manufacture.

I hope renault wakes up and gets the twingo and the megane in the i10 and the 120 segments.

Ramsagar · 5th October 2009, 09:19

Seems to be Nissan is planning for a bigger foot print in Indian market,How abt the A.S.S?

8th August 2009, 14:25	#17
Rahulkool Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,433 Thanked: 1,947 Times View My Garage	i saw a Nissan-Renault staff bus yesterday, is that means production has already started ??
	() Thanks

28th August 2009, 11:50	#18
AyAn! Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Durgapur/Calcutta/Pune Posts: 2,169 Thanked: 869 Times	Nissan to shift production of small car from UK to India Nissan to shift production of small car from UK to India - India Business - Business - NEWS - The Times of India NEW DELHI: Forget China, it’s focus India for global automakers, courtesy small cars. In a move that reflects the growing stature of the Indian car industry globally, Japanese major Nissan has decided to shift the entire production of its small car, Micra, from the UK to India. After production of the Micra begins here, Nissan plans to manufacture four more models in India, involving a total investment of over Rs 2,000 crore. The move underlines the rush among automakers to rationalize production costs and move to locations that offer the best value and quality. “We have decided to manufacture the Micra at our upcoming factory at Oragadam, near Chennai,” Nissan India MD and CEO Kiminobu Tokuyama told TOI. The company’s Chennai plant will start production from May next year, and export markets would be catered to from autumn, Tokuyama said. Nissan, he said, plans to meet Micra’s requirements for the entire European region as well as some other markets like West Asia from the Chennai plant. “We plan to start with export volumes of 1.1 lakh units, which would be gradually scaled up to 1.8 lakh units as demand goes up,” Tokuyama said. But what prompted the step? “There are many benefits in India, including a high-quality vendor base that is also cost-effective, leading to globally-competitive pricing,” Tokuyama said. Nissan will thus emulate companies like Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki, which make small cars in India to export to Europe.
	() Thanks

28th August 2009, 16:00	#20
fx45 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: mumbai Posts: 1,823 Thanked: 386 Times	Micra could compete with i10 etc. but the reall competitor to the Jazz is the Tidia which is a great HB/Sedan and can give some serious competiton to Jazz/City here.
	() Thanks

28th August 2009, 18:34	#21
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,736 Thanked: 311,457 Times View My Garage	There's a lot of great hatchbacks out there, including the Micra, that are pretty darn competent. The only challenge is our exceedingly price sensitive market. Maruti, Hyundai & Tata have got the value game covered. It will be very difficult for anyone to match these three players in cost of production per hatch (and thus, ex-showroom price). It's not impossible, but the 3.5 - 5 lakh hatchback segment requires a phenomenal amount of commitment. Early players obviously enjoy & exploit their advantage. Nissan & Renault have been affected by the global recesssion, would they be willing to commit? Not to mention, their initial innings (Logan, Teana & X-Trail) have been pathetic. Another challenge : Distribution. Dealers that cover the length & breadth of our vast country are mandatory to a mass market small car's success. Right now, few entrepreneurs are willing to invest money in a dealership. And the number of potentials have been steadily dwindling over the past 5 years.
	() Thanks

28th August 2009, 18:47	#22
Sn1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 1,022 Thanked: 232 Times View My Garage	Talking of Micra I fondly remember my four day stint with the car. I do not however agree with @speedmiester that it is a bad handling car. I did the complete Greek Peloponnese island from Athens and back. The car was extremely frugal as compared to VW Eos that was driven earlier. The car is at no stretch an eye candy but has extremely user friendly cabin, lot of cubby holes and lot of space for two traveling. the best part was that on a single day I covered more than 900 kms from sun-rise to sunset and did not feel fatigued. On Indian roads it will be interesting what Nissan/Renault does. The market is already saturated but yeh dil mange more Indians will have good time in this French/Japanese car. Cheers!
	() Thanks

28th August 2009, 20:58	#23
car_crazy1400 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: DL/UP16/PB10 Posts: 652 Thanked: 343 Times	Guys! Update, I saw the Micra in the first picture parked on the roadside in Kirti Nagar Market yesterday (was driving with dad , so no pics. It had A MH-43 regn. Had a Pinkish/ pale orange kinda color. Road worthiness tests?
	() Thanks

1st October 2009, 18:27	#24
sidindica Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 4,895 Thanked: 8,173 Times	first official sketches released by Nissan, pics from worldcarfans. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

1st October 2009, 18:31	#25
vinaydas BANNED Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 1,399 Thanked: 148 Times	personally the looks of the car donot impress me but one thing is for sure,the small car market in india is spicing up
	() Thanks

1st October 2009, 19:05	#26
ashutoshb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NOIDA Posts: 1,895 Thanked: 5,094 Times View My Garage	looks nice! cheeky bubbly look, like the spark.
	() Thanks

2nd October 2009, 08:24	#27
sunil8089 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 198 Thanked: 153 Times	If Nissan come up with a globally competent product like Micra, they have huge potential to establish in Indian market. I don't think the distribution, sales and service will be a major area of concern as they can tie up (at least initially) with players like Suzuki, Mahindra or any other existing players, than setting up their own network. Globally Nissan and Suzuki have lots of tie ups. I don't know whether it works in an Indian scenario, especially with Maruti. But a more possible partner is Mahindra, as in the case of Renault. More than these logistic issues, the most important success factor is the 'positioning' which determines the target market and the pricing. In UK I had seen micra is well positioned at the entry level with good value (not cheapest), people who used this car got a very good opinion. In India if they position the car in the 'heart' of the mass market its going to be a success. Otherwise we will have one more white elephant, like 'Honda Jazz'. Last edited by sunil8089 : 2nd October 2009 at 08:35.
	() Thanks

5th October 2009, 09:19	#30
Ramsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: BLR_Nellore(AP) Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 255 Times View My Garage	Seems to be Nissan is planning for a bigger foot print in Indian market,How abt the A.S.S?
	() Thanks